What's your problem?

Paratransit glitch at Pace leaves disabled man fuming

Each time he called for paratransit service, Mitch Betlej was told the same thing: Pace does not serve his West Chicago senior apartment complex.

Each time he hung up the phone, the 63-year-old would fume.

From his window, he could see Pace picking up other residents in his building.

"I see them come through here with a lift where I could go on with a wheelchair," said Betlej, who became disabled after a massive stroke in 2005. "And yet, they keep telling me they don't service my area."

After unsuccessfully trying to get a ride to a doctor's appointment in Naperville this week, Betlej decided he had had enough. He had a friend e-mail What's Your Problem? on his behalf.

"When I registered some time ago for [Americans with Disabilities Act] paratransit, I had to go get assessed," he told the Problem Solver. "I went in my wheelchair and I got approved. I got an ID card. I've had nothing but trouble ever since."

The Problem Solver called Diane Palmer, spokeswoman for the Regional Transit Authority, who confirmed Betlej was, in fact, eligible for ADA paratransit service. But it was only within the past year that his home address fell within the program's guidelines for service, she said.

Patrick Wilmot, a spokesman for Pace, said federal rules require bus systems to provide paratransit service to eligible residents if the pickup location and destination are within three-quarters of a mile of an existing fixed-route bus line.

On June 7, Pace extended Route 747 through West Chicago, making it close enough to Betlej's apartment that he qualified for paratransit service, Wilmot said.

Why Betlej was told he was not eligible for service is unclear, Wilmot said.

"It appears there was a glitch in the system," he said. "For some reason [his address] was not coming up on the call-taker's screen as an eligible trip."

Wilmot said Pace has tested its system several times by re-entering Betlej's address, and it now should be fixed.

"The problem has been corrected, and he should have no problems scheduling trips," Wilmot said.

Betlej said representatives from RTA and Pace called him and told him things have been ironed out. He said a caregiver drove him to his doctor's appointment, but he'll try scheduling a trip on Pace next week.

"We'll see how everything works out," he said. "The whole thing, to be honest with you, is confusing. I mean, I think personally it should be more simplified."

Palmer said anyone with questions about Pace's paratransit for fixed-route services can call the agency's customer service line at 847-364-7223.

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